Planning
Where to Eat Pastilla in Fes
Pastilla — spelled bastilla or bstilla locally — is Fes at its most theatrical: a shatteringly thin warqa pastry dome wrapped around spiced poultry, crushed almonds, and cinnamon, then dusted with icing sugar so the first bite is savoury and sweet at once. Fes is the dish's spiritual home, and the city takes it more seriously than anywhere else in Morocco. You will find it in three broad settings: grand riad restaurants inside restored palaces, mid-range medina eateries near Bab Boujloud, and a handful of home-style kitchens where the recipe hews to the pigeon original rather than the chicken version most tourists meet. Expect to pay roughly 80-180 MAD for a single generous pastilla, more inside a set menu at a palace dining room. Browse Moroccan dishes for background before you order.
Where the best versions are served
The most reliable pastilla in Fes comes from the restored-palace restaurants clustered inside the old medina, where kitchens make warqa pastry fresh and bake the pie to order rather than reheating a pre-made one. These places lean formal, often part of a multi-course set menu with a courtyard setting. For something less expensive and quicker, medina restaurants around Bab Boujloud and Talaa Kebira serve individual pastillas as a starter or light meal. Ask whether the pastry is house-made; the difference between fresh warqa and shop-bought sheets is immediately obvious in the texture.
Chicken, pigeon, or seafood
Traditional Fassi pastilla uses pigeon, prized for its richer, gamier meat, but many restaurants now default to chicken because it is cheaper and more familiar to visitors. If you want the classic, ask specifically for pigeon (djaj is chicken, hmam is pigeon) and expect to pay a premium or order ahead. A modern seafood pastilla — vermicelli, shrimp, and white fish in a savoury, sugar-free pastry — has become common in coastal-influenced menus and is worth trying as a contrast. None is more authentic than the pigeon original, but each tells you something about how the dish travels.
How to order it well
Pastilla is rich, so one is easily shared between two as a starter, or eaten solo as a light main. It is meant to be broken into with your hands or a spoon, not sliced neatly. If it arrives lukewarm the pastry will have gone soft, which is a sign it was not baked to order — worth noting for next time rather than sending back. Pair it with a simple salad and mint tea rather than another heavy dish. For a fuller day of eating, combine a pastilla stop with a food tour through the Fes medina.
Practical tips
- Ask for pigeon (hmam) pastilla if you want the traditional Fassi version rather than the chicken default.
- Order it as a shared starter — a whole pastilla is very rich for one person as a full meal.
- Check the pastry is baked to order; a soft, lukewarm crust means it was made in advance.
- Palace-restaurant pastillas usually come inside a set menu, so budget for the whole meal, not just the pie.
Related questions
What is pastilla and why is Fes known for it?
Pastilla is a sweet-savoury pie of thin warqa pastry filled with spiced poultry, almonds, and cinnamon. Fes is considered its birthplace, and the city's palace kitchens still make the most refined versions.
How much does pastilla cost in Fes?
A single generous pastilla runs roughly 80-180 MAD depending on the setting, with palace-restaurant versions often served as part of a pricier multi-course set menu.
Is pastilla sweet or savoury?
Both. The filling is savoury and spiced, but the pastry is dusted with icing sugar and cinnamon, so each bite balances the two. Seafood pastilla is the exception and is served savoury only.
Can I get pigeon pastilla or is it always chicken?
Both exist. Chicken is the common tourist default, but many Fes restaurants will make the traditional pigeon version if you ask, sometimes with advance notice and at a higher price.
Plan a pastilla-focused meal in the Fes medina